Extreme Rules (2010)
Extreme Rules (2010) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and presented by KFC, which took place on April 25, 2010, at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the second event promoted under the Extreme Rules name. There were eight matches scheduled on the event's card, all of which featured an extreme stipulation, with no regular singles matches on the card. The event received 182,000 pay-per-view buys, the same as the figure achieved by the 2009 Judgment Day event. Storylines Extreme Rules featured professional wrestling matches involving different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylineswhich were played out on World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) television programs and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Wrestlers portrayed either a villainous or heroic character. The main storyline from the Raw brand featured John Cena and Batista feuding over the WWE Championship. The feud had begun several months previously and been a feature of several pay-per-views, including WrestleMania XXVI, where Cena defeated Batista to win the championship. Following WrestleMania, on the April 5 episode of Raw, Batista attacked Cena after a match. It was announced that Batista would receive his rematch in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules. World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger from the SmackDown brand was scheduled to face Raw wrestler Randy Orton. Swagger won the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania, earning a contract for a guaranteed championship match at the time and place of his choosing. He used the contract on the April 2 episode of SmackDown, defeating Chris Jericho to win the World Heavyweight Championship after Jericho had been attacked by Edge. After a number one contender's match between Jericho and Edge ended in a double count-out, Raw guest host David Hasselhoff announced that Swagger would face Orton, who had beaten Swagger on two occasions, in an Extreme Rules match. Chris Jericho and Edge also had a scheduled match on the card. Edge returned from injury at the Royal Rumble, winning the Royal Rumble match, and earning a match for a championship of his choosing at WrestleMania. Edge elected to wrestle then-World Heavyweight Champion Jericho, but lost. On the following episode of SmackDown, after being refused a rematch, Edge attacked Jericho, allowing Jack Swagger to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and win the championship. After a number one contender's match between Jericho and Edge went to a double count-out, it was announced that they would face each other in a steel cage match. The secondary rivalry from the Raw brand heading into Extreme Rules was between Triple H and Sheamus. Sheamus felt that Triple H was responsible for him losing the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, and so challenged him to a match at WrestleMania, but lost. As a result, the following night on Raw, Sheamus attacked Triple H with a lead pipe, and it was announced that the two would meet in a Street Fight at Extreme Rules. CM Punk and Rey Mysterio had been feuding for several months prior to Extreme Rules, which included Punk tormenting Mysterio in front of his wife and children. They wrestled at WrestleMania, with Mysterio winning, allowing him to avoid being forced to join Punk's stable, The Straight Edge Society. When inducting members into The Straight Edge Society, Punk shaved their hair while retaining long hair himself; as a result, Mysterio challenged him to a match at Extreme Rules with a stipulation that if Punk lost, he would have his head shaved. Also announced for the card was a match for the Women's Championship between the champion, Michelle McCool, and Beth Phoenix. The feud began when Phoenix objected to SmackDown Consultant Vickie Guerrero aligning with Team Lay-Cool (McCool and Layla) and refusing to grant Phoenix a title match. After earning her championship match, Phoenix was attacked and humiliated on the April 23 episode of SmackDown by Team Lay-Cool, who hit her with an ironing board and drew on her with lipstick to set up an Extreme Makeover match. The final match on the card was between former tag team partners, Shad Gaspard and JTG. After Cryme Tyme lost a tag team match on the April 2 episode of SmackDown, Gaspard turned on JTG and attacked him, setting up a strap match between the two. Aftermath Because The Hart Dynasty defeated ShoMiz at Extreme Rules, they received a tag team championship match the next night on Raw, which they won. After the match Big Showturned face and attacked The Miz. Big Show moved to the SmackDown brand and became number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship at Over the Limit. The feud between CM Punk and Rey Mysterio continued after Extreme Rules. A match combining the stipulations of their matches from Extreme Rules and WrestleMania XXVI was announced for Over the Limit in which if Mysterio lost he would have to join the Straight Edge Society and if Punk lost he would have to shave his head. At Over The Limit, Mysterio defeated Punk and forced Punk to shave his head. After Extreme Rules, Randy Orton started a feud with Edge. A match was set up between the two at Over The Limit, ending in a double countout. Jack Swagger entered into a program with the Big Show, against whom Swagger defended the World Heavyweight Championship at Over The Limit. At Over the Limit Swagger lost via disqualification, retaining the title. Triple H was sidelined for the rest of the year and came back in February 2011 to confront The Undertaker. A week later when he returned, he attacked Sheamus to end the feud. The feud between Batista and John Cena continued after Extreme Rules. Batista earned a rematch for the WWE Championship at Over the Limit by defeating Randy Orton and Sheamus in a number one contender's match, but Cena defeated Batista at the event in an "I Quit" Match. The next night, Raw general manager Bret Hart told Batista he had to qualify for the WWE Championship Fatal-4-Way at the eponymous pay-per-view, but he refused and lost to Randy Orton by forfeit. Batista then quit WWE. After capturing the WWE Women's Championship, Beth Phoenix tore her ACL on the May 6 edition of Superstars during a singles match against Rosa Mendes, which Phoenix won with a roll-up. Phoenix eventually dropped the WWE Women's Championship to Layla in a 2-on-1 handicap match on the May 14 edition of SmackDown. After being out of action for six months, Phoenix returned at Survivor Series to save Natalya from an attack by LayCool. In December at TLC, Phoenix and Natalya defeated LayCool in a Divas Tag Team Tables match. Results Other on-screen personnel See also * List of WWE pay-per-view events * Extreme Rules Category:Extreme Rules Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events Category:2010 Pay-Per-View Events